From Way Before
by CrazyLittleHanyou
Summary: Gojyo lost touch with his childhood friend you years ago and he never thought he would meet her again... until now! Gojyo x Reader
1. Life is Like a Boat

**From Way Before**

**Chapter 1 – Life Is Like A Boat**

~Story Start (You aged +/- 10)~

"Sayonara Koumyou Sanzo-Sama! Koryuu-kun!" You call over your shoulder, "I'll come back soon!" You've just spent a couple of weeks at the temple with your brother, befriending Koumyou Sanzo and Koryuu, a boy about a year older than you.

"See you soon, _-san!" The young blonde-haired monk calls back to you as you leave the temple.

"Sayonara _-chan!" The Sanzo priest on his left calls to you with a smile, "Make sure you look after her well Shuei!"

"Don't worry, Sanzo-Sama, she'll be fine!" Your brother calls back to the priest as you disappear out of view.

~(You are aged +/- 12)~

You are playing outside with Taisho after a heavy work session with your father and Taisho's guardian Jakumo. You hear a sound in the bushes near your house and go to see what it is. Taisho follows you, keeping close as you part the bushes. You see a man sat there, shirtless, with his back to you. The man has shoulder length brown hair and has a staff with him, a staff that you recognise.

"Brother Shuei?" You ask, "It is you, Shuei!" You say as the man turns around and you see his face. You run to him but stop short as you reach him, he faces you and your eyes widen in shock. On the left side of his chest a talisman was stuck, pulsating and veins seemed to come from it. "Brother Shuei, what happened to you?"

"_... I had to..." Shuei tells you, you see the look of pain on his face. It's not pain from what you have said; it's a different sort of pain... from the talisman.

"The Curse of Oria!" You exclaim, "You said you'd never use that one, ever!" You cry, tears welling up in your eyes.

"_, I had no choice..." Shuei tells you, walking closer to you, "The youkai attacked the temple they _killed_ Koumyou Sanzo-Sama and many of the other monks, it was the only way that I could protect the survivors."

"Oh brother!" You cry, hugging him, resting your head on the right hand side of his chest.

"_, I need you to do something for me." Shuei tells you, releasing from you from his embrace and kneeling down so that you are at the same level, "Tell Okaa-san and Otou-san that I'm sorry but I cannot visit them anymore."

"Shuei, does that mean?" You sob.

"I can't fully control the curse which has become another side of me, _." Shuei tells you, tears welling in his eyes, "This other side wants to destroy all demons and there are too many here to allow me to stay without hurting one of them."

"Where will you go?" You ask whilst weeping.

"I'll travel around for a while..." Shuei tells you before he starts to scream and holds his head in pain. It soon seems to pass but when he looks at you again his eyes are very different, much crueller than those of your brothers. "I will destroy all of the youkai scum, none will survive! I will comes for those here too!" This version of Shuei tells you, gripping onto your shoulders so hard that it hurts.

"Shuei... please stop this..." You beg. He suddenly releases you and turns, walking away from you, "I... I cannot control Rikudo..." Shuei tells you, his soft voice and features returning, "I will give you a sign when I return. I will try to stop him but there is no going back now..." He starts to walk away from you.

"Brother! Wait!" You call after him, running towards him. Shuei turns and looks at you, giving you a sad smile before swiftly running away, too fast for you to catch up.

~A Few Months Later~

"Stupid Hanyou!"

"Disgusting Taboo child!"

"You can't play with us!"

"We play ningen versus Youkai..."

"And you're not Youkai..."

"Nor ningen..."

"So which side would _you_ be on?"

"ENOUGH!" You shout at the top of your lungs. You command aimed at the boys that surrounded you red-haired friend. It was always the same. They taunted him, teased him and, on rare occasions, took to beating him. You hated it.

"Why do you stick up for him, _?"

"Yeah, he's a cross-breed, you shouldn't associate yourself with him."

"What would your brother say if he knew that you were friends with a mongrel?"

"Shuei knows and doesn't care. Buddhists don't care about breeding, it' all to do with love and peace." You say, defending your friend.

"Whatever, _." The boys say, walking away from you and the Hanyou.

Once they boys have left, you feel a hand on your shoulder. You turn around to see your friend standing there, blushing, his big brother beside him.

"Gojyo, you're gonna have to learn to stick up for yourself!" You tell the red-haired and red-eyed boy, poking your tongue out at him. His brother pats your head.

"Gojyo what have you got to say to _?"

"Thanks..." Gojyo mutters, embarrassed.

"S'kay." You reply, grinning, "You woulda done the same for me, wouldn't he, Jien?"

"Right!" Jien agrees, grinning, "You coming for dinner, _?"

"Sure!" You agree, "What time?"

"Sevenish. You two can stay out til then." He tells you, standing up and walking away, "Don't be late!"

"We won't!" Both you and Gojyo call to him.

"Wanna play Dai Hin Min?" You ask, getting a pack of cards out of your pocket.

"Sure." Gojyo agrees, "What are we betting on this time?"

"What have you got in mind?" You ask.

"If you lose..." Gojyo thinks for a moment, "I get a kiss." You look at him with a shocked expression.

"Fine." You reply with a smirk, "And if I win you have to do my chores for a week."

"Done." Gojyo agrees as you shake hands on your bet.


	2. The Boy Who Destroyed the World

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Chapter 2 – The Boy Who Destroyed the World**

~Six Months Later~

You sit by your father's bed whilst your mother gets a fresh flannel. He's been sick for two months now and he's not getting better. The doctor said it was just the flu at first but now... now they think its pneumonia. They don't know if his body can fight it off. He's barely conscious on a good day and your mother tends to him all day long. Jakumo and Taisho often come round to help around the house and so that you can have some time of your own to play with Taisho. Jien and Gojyo come round often also, for the same reasons.

Two days later and you've been sent away from your father by your mother and the doctors who are now at his side. You are sat outside in the garden with Gojyo and Taisho on either side of you. You know they don't get on but are willing to be there, together, just to comfort you. You sit in silence, you know that neither of them know quite what to say.

"Ahem..." A man clears his throat. The three of you turn around to see one of the doctors standing behind you, "Miss _, you mother requests that you are with your father... for his final moments..."

"Yes..," you sob as you stand up and tears fill your eyes. You walk past the doctor and into the house, the two boys move to follow you but the doctor stops them. You momentarily pause.

"She is requested alone..." The doctor tells the boys. They look to you for your opinion on the matter and you nod.

"Please, I'll be fine..," you lie continuing into the house.

You see your mother sitting over your father's pale, lifeless body. His breathing is shallow and his chest is hardly moving at all. Tears well up in your eyes but you don't let them fall. You walk over to your mother and gently take her hand, holding it tightly within your own. You stand beside her and watch as your father's breathing slows and eventually fails...

~Several Days Later~

You walk behind the coffin towards the graveyard. Your mother is at you side, crying. She hasn't stopped crying since your father died and she won't eat anything either. It doesn't help that Shuei hasn't returned, even though you told her that he can't, she wants him to be there. As you reach the gravesite, you see many people, youkai and ningen, awaiting your arrival. Taisho and Gojyo are in the crowds too. You watch as the coffin is slowly lowered into the hole and the priest starts to chant some sutra. Many people around you are crying but you haven't shed a tear since he died and you don't feel like it much at the moment.

Once the coffin is in place, you and your mother step forward and throw in a rose each. Soil is thrown in also and you watch as the dark-wood coffin slowly disappears into the ground...

Later, during your father's Wake, you take yourself for a walk in the woods. You don't feel like talking to anyone at the moment and just want to be alone. You sit down in a secluded clearing, where you and Shuei used to play together and you cry. You feel arms wrap around your body and someone pull you close to them. You look up and into the red eyes of Gojyo who gives you a sad smile and continues to hold you.

~Several Years Later (You're aged about fourteen/fifteen)~

'Damn it, Jien.' You think to yourself as you run through the forest. You've matured quite a bit and are a very attractive young woman, 'Why'd this have to happen? Couldn't you have protected him any other way?' You think back to earlier in the day when Jien came to you...

~Flashback~

You're sitting in the back yard, working on a Shakujou that you have been crafting for the past couple of months. You're an orphan now, your mother died only a year after your father due to anorexia nervosa – she stopped eating after your father's death.

"_!" A voice calls you desperately, "Where are you?"

"Out back," you call back, putting the Shakujou down, "What's wrong Jien?"

"_, you've got to find him..." Jien calls back to you, coming round to the back of the house. You gasp, his hands are covered in blood.

"Wh...What happened?" You ask, shocked.

"Mother... Gojyo... She was going to kill him..." Jien tells you in shock, you put your hand on his shoulder, "I had to k-k-kill her..." He says looking at you, tears in his eyes, you put your arms around his waist and hug him caringly.

"Where's Gojyo now?" You ask in concern.

"He ran. I don't know where he's gone." Jien tells you, "But look after him for me, _."

"Huh? Where are you going, Jien?" You ask, pulling back.

"I can't stay here anymore, not knowing what I've done..." Jien says, walking away from you.

~End of Flashback~

'Gojyo, please be okay...' You think as you speed up.

You soon come to a pool at the bottom of a small waterfall, somewhere where you and Gojyo used to go to swim or think when you were younger. You see him, his back turned to you, sitting at the water's edge.

"It's a bit cold to swim this time of year, don't you think?" You ask, sitting down beside him. You notice two bleeding scratch marks on his cheek and get a cloth out of your pocket.

"Where's Jien?" Gojyo asks drearily as you start to clean his wounds.

"Jien... Jien's gone," you tell Gojyo sadly.

"We're both alone now then..." Gojyo mutters.

"No. We'll never be alone as long as we have each other," you tell him sternly. He smiles weakly at you.

"Why do you bother with me, _?" He asks you miserably, "What good is a hanyou like me?"

"Don't say that, Gojyo," you tell him sincerely, "But if you really want an answer then I bother with you because you're a great friend who's always been there for me. I don't care whether you're ningen, youkai or hanyou; to me you're just Gojyo. Sha Gojyo."

"Do you really mean that?" Gojyo asks you, surprised.

"Of course," you say as you gently kiss his uninjured cheek.

~A Couple of Months Later~

You are adding the finishing touches to your Shakujou (hell, you've never made a weapon without guidance before so you screwed it up a few times) when, you hear the wind chimes start to ring. You look up, startled since the day is still; there isn't even a slight breeze.

"_, you okay?" Taisho asks, working on another weapon beside you.

"There's no wind..," you mutter as the wind chimes continue to ring, "Does that...? Could that mean...?"

"_, what is it?" Taisho presses, taking hold of your shoulders.

"He's coming, Taisho!" You say fearfully.

"Who? Who's coming?" Taisho asks you desperately.

"Shuei...no... Rikudo!" You tell him, "He's come to claim all demon life."

"You don't mean? But Shuei wouldn't do that..." Taisho protests.

"Tai, you were there, when he said that he'd come back. The Curse of Oria feeds of the death of the youkai. He will kill them all. We have to warn them," you stand, holding the now finished Shakujou in your hand.

"Where are you going with that?" Taisho asks you suspiciously.

"I'm going to give it to Gojyo. He has to leave too," you say sadly. Taisho nods in understanding.

"I'll alert the town, you go and help Gojyo." Taisho says and you split up, hurrying to try and save your friends before Rikudo's arrival.

You run towards the hut that Gojyo now calls home. He left his house after the incident with his mother. You knock on the door frantically, shouting his name the entire time.

"What?" An annoyed voice answers your frantic cries as Gojyo opens the door, rubbing his eyes, he has obviously been asleep (it's about 8.30 in the morning so most people are asleep in your town), "_? What's wrong?"

"He's coming, Gojyo. You've got to leave!" You tell the Hanyou quickly, thrusting the Shakujou towards him.

"What's this? Who's coming?" Gojyo asks you, taking the Shakujou from you and inspecting it carefully.

"That is a Shakujou. I've been making it... for you..," you tell him, blushing a little, "And, do you remember me telling you that my about a dangerous talisman user?" You ask, Gojyo nods, "And that he would have to kill youkai to calm the talisman?" Gojyo nods again, "Gojyo, he's coming her and you're in danger. Please leave. I don't know what I should do if you were to get injured or... killed..."

"Cih, I won't die _that_ easily!" Gojyo tells you cockily but he then sees your concerned face, "Is he that dangerous?" You nod, tears welling up in your eyes. "Alright, I'll go..." Gojyo agrees, realising just how serious the situation is.

"Thank you... Gojyo," you sigh with relief, throwing your arms around his shoulders and hugging him.

"I'll never be far away from you, _..." Gojyo whispers in your ear as he hugs you back and then kisses you lightly on the lips.

"Gojyo..," you whisper, "Don't forget me..."

"I'll never forget you, _." Gojyo whispers back, releasing you from his embrace and running away from the village, looking back at you every so often, until he is but a dot on the horizon.

You run back to the town where you see Taisho desperately telling the youkai to leave. Most of them are ignoring him and telling him not to be stupid. Only a few of the young families bother to leave, totalling at thirteen, including Gojyo. Taisho's guardians are two of the many youkai that refuse to go, not believe you or Taisho.

Soon enough, you see the silhouetted figure of your brother headed towards the village. He looks very different, his features are distorted and the veins coming from the talisman have increased. His hair is much finer and he now wears a sombrero-like hat upon his head. You cautiously walk over to him.

"S-Shuei?" You ask nervously.

"_." Shuei replies, you can hear that he is in pain, "I don't want you to see this..."

"We tried to make them leave... but they wouldn't..," you sob, going to hug your brother, but he pushes you out of the way. You hit the ground hard, Taisho is immediately at your side.

"Look after her... Taisho..." Shuei mumbles before walking further down the street.

"Shuei-San!" Jakumo rejoices as he approaches your brother, "It's wonderful to see you again!"

"Jakumo... Stay away from me..." Shuei begs but, before he can move away from Jakumo, he starts to scream and Rikudo takes over his body once more.

"Otou-san! Look out!" Taisho calls out as Rikudo turns to Jakumo and places a Talisman on his forehead. Jakumo lets out a high pitched screech as his body self-combusts.

The other youkai start to shrink away in fear, now believing what you were trying to tell them. However, they are too late and you watch in horror as Rikudo destroys all of them with Talismans or by his touch, leaving not one alive, not even the children. Within thirty minutes, the village is totally void of youkai life and many of the ningen are crying or panicking, you can tell that none of them intend to stay in the village any longer.

"Taisho," you say commandingly, he looks at you, unable to speak after seeing the horror of his foster parents' death, "Get whatever of your things that you can carry and is of use to us. We're leaving." Taisho nods and heads towards his house to collect his things.

Soon enough, you and Taisho have your things packed onto the saddle packs of two horses. You don't take much, a couple of pairs of clothes and your weapon-making equipment along with as much money as you could find. You mount the horses and ride out of the village, not once looking back...


	3. Pure Morning

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Chapter 3 – Pure Morning**

~Years Later (You're now 22)~

You're sitting behind the counter of your shop, sharpening the blade of a beautifully made katana, a katana that you have just finished making. Once you have finished sharpening it, you place the blade near the hilt, on your index finger, and it balances perfectly.

"Perfection is in your genes." A dark-haired, handsome male says to you, leaning against the door frame, one foot raised, resting against the wall. You grin.

"It's not perfect, Taisho," you reply matter-of-factly, "The balance is about point five of a millimetre off."

"Pfh, and when we actually find someone who can tell then I'll give you all of my earnings." He tells you, walking over to you.

"Done all of the deliveries?" you ask your long time friend as you carefully sheath the katana and place it on a display rack behind the counter.

"Yup." Taisho replies, lounging on a floor cushion behind the counter, "Everyone got what they wanted, even Mr Yamoto seemed content this time."

"He bloody well should," you say, feigning anger, "Those bullets are top quality, crafted by the best!"

"Cih, you're better at crafting bullets than me. My weapons are practical and work. Yours are elaborate and perfect in every way. I don't care if it's a few mil off or doesn't look that pretty but I guess that's why the military prefer my weapons."

"Probably. As long as the trigger works they'll take it," you say grinning as a cushion hits you in the face.

"Yeah, yeah little miss perfectionist!"

"Shuddup!" you reply, throwing the cushion back at him.

The next morning you wake up bright and early and head out into the shop. You and Taisho live in a small apartment above the shop so that you are always on site, I mean, you do run a weapons shop after all. You check over the shop interior and then walk outside, onto the covered porch, which is wood decked, and stretch. You then walk over to the two posts that support the roof there and check the talismans upon them, before walking to the backyard and checking the talismans there also.

Before Shuei was cursed, he taught you how to use talismans and you are now apt with them and use them to protect your shop from unwelcome visitors.

Once you are sure that everything is satisfactory, you return to your apartment where Taisho is up, preparing breakfast.

"All okay?" He asks as you enter the room.

"Yup, all Talismans are in order and it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day!" you reply happily, sitting down at the table.

"That's good!" Taisho says smiling as he places the Japanese-style Omelette on the plate in front of you.

"Umm..." you sigh, breathing in deeply the smell of the omelette, "Smells good!" Taisho smiles at you before you both tuck into the tasty breakfast.

Once you've finished breakfast, Taisho heads downstairs to open the shop whilst you wash up. Once you're done, you head downstairs and pack the deliveries onto Taisho's motorcycle. There's nothing too big today, just a few bullets, guns and a couple of nunchuks to deliver, so it shouldn't be too heavy for him to sort in one.

Once you've packed the deliveries, you head out into the main shop where Taisho is currently serving one of your regular customers.

"Zenon-San, what a pleasant surprise!" you say, with a smile, to the customer. He's pretty tall with orange-coloured hair, a scar on his face and an eye patch covering his right eye. He also carries a machine gun over his shoulder.

"Ah, Miss _, good to see you. I see haven't moved yet." Zenon replies.

"A year, I know, but I think we'll stay here for a while longer," you say with a grin, you're always pleasant to your customers, "Did you come to get some more banishing bullets?"

"Well there's nowhere else worth going to get them so I came here." Zenon tells you, "I'll be bringing my baby in for a service next week." He says, patting his gun.

"Great! We'll make sure she's as good as new!" Taisho says, smiling just like you.

"Good." Zenon says, handing over the money and leaving the shop with his bullets.

Once he has gone you and Taisho both sigh.

"Man, he really creeps me out." Taisho says.

"I swear he's not human!" you agree.

"Yeah," Taisho says, heading out back, "I won't be too long, okay?"

"Sure!"

Whilst Taisho is out you can do little but neaten up some of your nearly finished weapons. When he returns, you'll go out back and start to make some new ones and some custom ones that are on order. You're lucky since you shut the shop two days of the week so you can catch up on any outstanding orders then, but you do like to keep on top of things.

Whilst you are sitting behind the counter, adding the finishing touches to an elaborate bo staff, you hear the bell ring and the door close. You lay the bo staff and your tools down and stand up so that you can be seen behind the counter.

"Dokugakuji-san!" you say smiling a sincere smile, "How are you today? How can I help you?"

"_-chan!" Dokugakuji says smiling, "I'm well today. How are you holding up?"

"Good, as always!" you say smiling still. Suddenly you feel Dokugakuji's hand on your forehead.

"That's what you always say; you worry me when you say that, can never tell if you're really sickening for something." He says to you.

"Ah, Jien, don't worry yourself so much!" you say, not meaning to use his old name, "Sorry..," you say when you realise.

"Don't worry, you know you can call me whatever you like!" Dokugakuji says to you, grinning.

"Hurry up, Dokugakuji." Another voice says, "We don't have all day."

You look past Dokugakuji and see a red-haired youkai standing there. He's wearing a black, leather jacket and is pretty handsome.

"Who's your friend, Doku-San?" you ask curiously.

"Kougaji-Sama."

"The Son of Gyumaoh?"

"Yeah."

"Dokugakuji, we don't have time." Kougaji says in a demanding manner.

"Right." Dokugakuji replies, "Can you get me these things, _?" He asks, handing you a list.

You look over the list briefly before nodding.

"They'll take a while but I'll make 'em for you," you say.

"Cost?" Kougaji asks, taking an interest.

"Usually 1,526,574 Yen (Approx £10,000/$16,548) but, since Doku-San is a friend it'll be half price so 763,287 yen, alright?"

"Yes, arigatou." Kougaji says, walking out of the shop.

"Cheers, _!" Dokugakuji bids you farewell, waving at you as he leaves the shop.

"See ya!" you call back.


	4. Separation

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Chapter 4 – Separation**

~Gojyo's POV~

You are walking towards your wood-hut house, carrying logs, with _ walking beside you, carrying flowers. Jien left about three months ago and you're alone now, apart from _'s kindness. You get to your front door and pause for a second.

"Wanna come in?" you ask _ kindly, she nods. You put the wood down and go to take her hand, to lead her inside when everything goes dark and she starts to fall into the black abyss. You reach out for her but miss, finding yourself stood on a hill a few miles outside of the village. You watch as a strangely familiar man enters the village and destroys all demon life there. Out of fear, you take the Shakujou that _ made for you and leave. You run down the other side of the hill and come face-to-face with the familiar man from the village...wait, you know this man, it's the guy Sanzo had a problem with... Rikudo! You go to run past him but he blocks your path and pins you against a tree, holding your throat.

"Shuei! Stop!" you hear _ call, she's standing behind Rikudo and is much older now, about the age you are (22). Rikudo's features quickly soften and he drops you and disappears. You fall to the ground, gasping for breath. _ runs over to you and puts her hand gently on your scarred cheek...

You wake up panting and sweating. You look around you and see the other three sleeping around you, sat in jeep. Goku's snoring whilst Hakkai looks peaceful and Sanzo... well Sanzo looks like Sanzo.

"It's been a long time since I've dreamt of her..." you murmur, looking up at the stars, "But I wonder... Could Rikudo have been the one who killed the youkai in my village? Who knows... anyway, if she really looks like that now then she's hot!"

~Your POV~

It's the afternoon of the following day and you're in the basement starting work on Dokugakuji's order. Taisho's upstairs working the shop this morning and this afternoon you'll do the deliveries. You take some banishing bullets out of the furnace and set them to one side to cool down. They've taken you almost a week to make, they're not easy to get right but you're good at it when you do. You then replace the door to the furnace and walk over to the open hearth where you start to forge a nodachi.

~Taisho's POV~

It's pretty quiet in the shop today, not many people have come in and it's mainly processing orders. You're considering closing shop for an early lunch when two guys walk in. One looks to be about your age, has dark hair and wears a monocle whilst the other looks to be a few years younger and is quite short with brown hair and wears a coronet on his forehead.

"Good morning!" you say cheerfully, "How can I help you today?"

"Hi there, wow this place is amazing..." The kid says, gaping at your array of weapons.

"Good morning," the other man says to you, "We were wondering if you stocked any banishing bullets?"

"We do but I'm not sure if any are ready at the moment." you tell the man truthfully.

"That's okay, we're staying in town for a while, when will some be ready?"

"Well one batch, a small one of two-fifty, should be okay to go out in the deliveries this afternoon and the next batch, of five hundred, will be ready by Saturday."

"We'll take the first batch and I think we can stretch to staying until Saturday for the others, don't you Goku?" the dark haired man asks the kid, who's currently reading one of your signs.

"Hey, can you service my Nyoi bo?" he asks you, ignoring his companion.

"Of course, leave it with us and we'll service it for you," you tell them, taking out a pad and pen, "Obviously I'll need to take some details too."

"Certainly," the dark haired man agrees, "What do you need to know?"

"Your names, where you're staying, and a deposit of 10,000yen for the banishing bullets."

"Well the bullets are for Genjo Sanzo and we're staying at the Kiroro Inn in town." the man tells you, offering you a card, "Why not take the entire payment for both lots of bullets now?" you nod and process the card.

"And this!" the kids says, slamming the bo staff on the counter, "Is my Nyoi Bo, and the name's Goku, Son Goku and I'm staying with Sanzo."

"Okay, we'll deliver the first lot of bullets later this afternoon and will return you bo-staff with the second order of bullets."

"Oh wait!" the boy shouts, running outside and returning a few minutes later with a worn out looking Shakujou, "Can you service this too? For the baka hentai?"

"Sure, we'll deliver it with the Nyoi bo, okay?"

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" The man tells you as the pair of them leave.

~Your POV~

You've done as much as you can on Dokugakuji's order and are now packing up the deliveries on your motorcycle when Taisho comes downstairs.

"How's the BB (banishing bullet) batch?" he asks you, holding a couple of interesting looking weapons in his arms.

"Perfect." you tell him with a grin, "What have you got there?" you ask curiously

"A Nyoi Bo and a Shakujou." Taisho tells you. You curiously take the Shakujou from him and inspect it carefully, "Can you deliver that batch of BBs to this address?" Taisho asks you but you're not listening. You're too interested in the Shakujou, "_?"

"Tai, this is one of mine..." you say, tracing your trademark on the handle, "This is the Shakujou that I made Gojyo all those years ago."

"You gotta be kidding me!" Tai exclaims.

"Was he there? Did he come into the shop?"

"No, it was some kid and a guy with dark hair." Tai tells you, your face falls.

"Ah well." you sigh, "He probably sold it. Sure, I'll deliver those."

You screech to a halt outside of the Kiroro Inn and park you motorcycle there. You walk inside and smile friendlily at the receptionist.

"How can I help you, Miss _?" she asks pleasantly.

"I'm looking for a man named Genjo Sanzo, ordered something from us, Mai." you reply.

"Ah, he's in the self catering room 4D." the girl, Mai, tells you, "You can access it from the main corridor." She says, indicating towards the corridor on your right.

"Arigatou Mai!" you say, heading down the corridor.

You soon come to room 4D and just as you are about to knock on the door, a bullet skims past your head, barely missing you.

"LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!" you hear an angry male voice shout, "THAT WAS MY LAST BULLET!"

"Don't blame us, phoney monk," another male voice snaps back.

"Can it, cockroach!" the first voice shouts back.

"Miss? Are you alright?" another voice asks. You snap out of your daze and see that the door is ajar and a dark haired man is standing there, looking at you with concern, "We didn't startle you too much did we? And you weren't hit were you?"

"Uh...No..." you say, the argument still going on in the back ground, "I've got a delivery for Genjo Sanzo."

"Well you'd best come in then," the dark haired man tells you, opening the door wide to let you in.

You gingerly walk into the room and look around. Sat at a table is a brown haired boy stuffing his face and in front of you is a blonde man dressed like a priest with a gun and harisen in his hands and is standing off against another man... Red hair, red eyes, two scars on his left cheek...

"G-Gojyo?" you ask, shocked. All four men look at you with surprise and confusion.


	5. Cry Little Sister

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Chapter 5 – Cry (Little Sister)**

"G-Gojyo?" you ask again.

"_?" The red-haired man replies in shock, "Is that really you?"

"You're alive..." you say, tears rolling down your face. Gojyo walks over to you and gently wipes away your tears.

"Shh..." He says to you, "Don't cry, it's gonna be alright..." He then pulls you into his embrace. You drop what you were carrying and hug him back, so pleased to have finally found your long lost friend.

"It's been a long time..." Gojyo says quietly in your ear.

"Almost eight years..."

"It's really been that long huh?" Gojyo asks, you nod, "You must have really missed me, to count and all."

"Cih." you growl, pulling out of his embrace, "Like hell I did, I was just wondering when I was going to get the five hundred yen that you owe me back."

"What are you talking about? I don't owe you nothing," Gojyo shouts back at you.

"Oh yeah?" you ask with a smirk, pulling out a pack of cards from within your keokogi, "Wanna double check that now?"

"You're on!" Gojyo replies, grinning, "But I've got better, I'll have you know."

"Cih, it'll be good to play a real opponent for once, Taisho hasn't improved one bit."

"Taisho? That jerk? He's still around?" Gojyo asks with shock.

"We live together," you say matter-of-factly.

"Next you're gonna tell me that you're marrying him, aren't cha?" Gojyo says, a little pissed.

"Now why would I do something stupid like that?" you ask with a grin, "That's so wrong in so many ways."

"Uh... Gojyo? Who iis/i this chick?" The brown-haired kid cuts in. You and Gojyo stop your ranting and look at the other three men with sweatdrops.

"Oh man!" you exclaim, picking up your package, "I can't believe I dropped your order! Gomen! Gomen nasai!" you look around the room, "Genjo Sanzo?"

The blonde-haired priest, who looks vaguely familiar, looks at you and steps forwards.

"Banishing bullets?" He asks coldly, you nod and hold the package out to him. He snatches them out of your hands, "Don't expect a tip. You can tell your boss that your delivery service is poor."

"Duly noted." you say bowing, "The bullets won't be damaged, I assure you." you say, "They are crafted precisely and..." you fade off as you see a gun lying on the table. You run over to it and pick it up.

"Drop it." Sanzo orders, you shake your head and inspect it.

"This one's taken some wear. Smith and Weston, ne?" you ask, the priest nods, "My father made one like this once." you say, taking a small bullet from your pocket and placing it in the gun. You fire at a wood notch on the wall and paint covers it, "It's off by a couple of mil..." you say reaching into your pocket and getting out some tools, you fiddle around with the gun until you are happy with the results. You then reload the gun with a paint bullet and fire at the same place, hitting dead on. You then throw the gun to the priest, "That service was on the house."

"You and your weapons!" Gojyo exclaims.

"Well they can take a lot of shit," you reply, "Look at your Shakujou for instance; I can't believe that it was once immaculate."

"YOU'VE GOT MY SHAKUJOU?" Gojyo exclaims, glaring at the kid and starting to twitch, "Hey. Monkey, you said you lost it... And Hakkai you agreed..."

"Well, 'lost' is a loose term..." The dark haired man replies sweatdropping, "We merely meant that we had misplaced it at the Weapons shop in town."

"The most mobile weapons shop in the east!" you say proudly, "We've move approximately six times a year! Though we have been here just over a year now..." you frown at the last sentence.

"You sure you should be proud about that?" Gojyo asks you, sweatdropping slightly.

"We don't move 'cause we're crap, we move because... well just because..." you say, looking sadder. Gojyo notices this.

"Let's go get a coffee and catch up." He suggests, putting his arm around you and heading out of the inn.

You take Gojyo to a quaint coffee shop situated in a quiet part of town. There aren't many people there, five people including yourself and Gojyo, so you know you won't get interrupted whilst you are there.

"So tell me what happened to you after the attack?" you ask Gojyo interestedly.

"Not a whole lot," Gojyo tells you, "At least not until three years ago when I met those three..."

"How'd that happen?" you ask curiously.

"Hakkai, the dark haired guy committed some crime and the phoney monk and monkey were sent to take him back to the temple."

"So where do you fit in? Were you an accomplice? His lover?" you ask.

"HIS LOVER?" Gojyo exclaims angrily, "Where the hell'd you get that from?"

"Times change," you state calmly, "Never know what may have happened during that time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gojyo asks.

"Nothing... Anyway, so what are you four doing now?"

"Going west, gotta stop Gyumaoh's revival." Gojyo tells you, unable to lie to you.

"Be careful..." you say, realising that he will have to fight his own brother. You don't want to tell him that Jien works for Gyumaoh's son, you are afraid of his reaction.

"What about you?" Gojyo asks curiously, "What have you been doing?"

"Running the shop, travelling around and searching from my brother," you say quietly.

"Your brother?" Gojyo asks, a little surprised, "But I thought he was at one of the temples..."

"Gojyo..." you start, "I never really told you the truth..." you sigh, "My brother used the Curse of Oria to save the monks at the temple where he resided from a Youkai attack." Gojyo looks at you with surprise, "It was he who attacked the village. He killed Jakumo and the others."

"I see..." Gojyo says thoughtfully, "And you never thought to tell me?"

"I-I-I thought you would hate me if you knew..." you admit, blushing.

"Why would I hate you?"

"Because Shuei... he would have killed you..." you whisper.

"Nah, I couldn't hate you if I tried. But, what I don't understand is why you were searching for him after everything that he did."

"Well, not long after we set up shop for the first time, I did a job for an old gentleman, he wanted his old Katana restored before, well before he died. He couldn't afford to pay and, although I didn't mind doing it for free, he insisted on giving me a collection of ancient books that he had stored in his attic. One of them was on talismans and..." Tears well up in your eyes. Gojyo gently wipes them away, "And it contained the cure for the Curse of Oria."

"So that's why you moved around a lot, you wanted to cure Shuei. Why did you stop?" Gojyo asks, taking your hand in his.

"Because several months after we arrived here, I was running an errand to one of the mining companies in the east when I found him..." you sob, "He was dead... Someone killed him before... before I could save him..." you break down in tears.

"Shh..." Gojyo comforts you, moving to your side of the table and cradling you in his arms.

~Gojyo's POV~

"Well, not long after we set up shop for the first time, I did a job for an old gentleman, he wanted his old Katana restored before, well before he died. He couldn't afford to pay me and, although I didn't mind doing it for free, he insisted on giving me a collection of ancient books that he had stored up in his attic." _ tells you.

'Typical _.' you think to yourself, 'I'm surprised that they actually make any money with her kind heart...'

"One of them was on talismans and..." _ pauses and you see tears welling up in her eyes. As they fall, you gently wipe them away, "And it contained the cure for the Curse of Oria."

'There was a cure?'

"So that's why you moved around a lot, you wanted to cure Shuei." you say thoughtfully, "Why did you stop?" you ask, fearing her answer and taking her hands, to give her support and to support yourself. You get the feeling that she is going to tell you that he's dead...

"Because a few months after we arrived here, I was running an errand to one of the mining companies in the east when I found him... He was dead... Someone killed him before... before I could save him..." She tells you, breaking down into floods of tears.

"Shh..." you comfort her, moving round to sit with her and hold her, feeling guilty for being involved in his death. You don't doubt it now, the man that attacked you and the others, the one who wanted to kill Sanzo, that was Shuei. That was _'s brother.


	6. To Die For

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Chapter 6 – To Die For**

You arrive back at the shop two hours later than you should have. You find Taisho waiting for you on the decking wearing a concerned look on his face. You breathe a sigh of relief as you approach the shop and park your bike.

"Where have you been? I was so worried!" he asks you frantically as he rushes over to you, "It's not like you to be late _."

"Gomen nasai[1]," you hug him friendlily as an apology, "But I met up with an old friend and lost track of time!"

"An old friend? But we don't have any old friends here!"

"Guess not. Well not usually, but today we did!" Taisho gives you a quizzical look, "Let's just say that Gojyo didn't sell his shakujou!"

"WHAT?" Taisho exclaims following you into the shop.

~Gojyo's POV~

You walk back into your room at the inn only to come face-to-face with the violet-eyed priest.

"Whadda ya want?" you ask carelessly as you light up a cigarette.

"Who was the girl?"

"That's none of your business," you turn away from the priest's fixed gaze.

"Just another one of your whores then…" Sanzo starts but before he can finish, you pin him to the wall with your hand around his throat. You don't miss the look of surprise clear on the monk's face.

"Never call her that again," you growl through gritted teeth as you release your grip and allow Sanzo to breathe. He slides down the wall until he is sitting, all the while gasping for breath, "You know nothing about her kisama[2]."

You then storm towards the room that you are to share with the monkey.

~Taisho's POV~

The next morning you are left alone to work the shop. _ went out earlier in the morning with the deliveries telling you that she would be back in the afternoon. You didn't need her to tell you where she's going, you already know and you hate the thought of it.

'Damn him,' you think to yourself, 'Why'd he have to reappear now?'

You stand behind the counter, angrily shaving and shaping the body of an arrow. You are focusing fully on your task when the door opens and some customers walk in.

"Are you okay?" a voice asks causing you to look up from your work. You realise that you must have been giving quite some glare and certainly a stand-offish aura.

"I'm fine, how can I help you?" You recognise the customer as the older of the two men from the previous day, one of the ones who brought Gojyo's shakujou in.

"I was just wondering if you had seen our red-haired companion, Gojyo?" You scowl at the dark-haired man.

"No why would I have?"

"I'm sorry. I just thought that he may have come here. He seemed to know your companion. I assume that you're not a friend of his."

"Cih. Not likely. We've never gotten on, not since we were kids."

"I see… Well sorry for bothering you," he then left.

~Your POV~

You and Gojyo have been walking around the town for a few hours, just generally cathing up.

You soon find yourselves wandering out of the town and into the surrounding forest like you used to when you were young. You spent a lot of time together just walking through the woodland.

You both stop dead in your tracks when you hear a twig snap somewhere behind you. You turn around and Gojyo moves in front of you in a protective manner, even though he had no weapon with him. From out of the surrounding area about fifteen youkai emerge wearing hungry looks on their faces.

"Look it's ithat/i girl, the one who managed to stop us from entering the town," all of the youkai's eyes fix themselves on you.

"And the red-head resembles one of the Sanzo-ikkou. There's a big bounty out on them," another youaki adds, indicating towards Gojyo.

"K-kuso[3]…" Gojyo curses knowing that you are outnumbered big time especially not having his shakujou to hand.

"Her spells can't protect them out here…" a female youkai mutters, licking her lips.

"She's pretty cute, let's have some fun with her first. Kill her mate and then she's ours! LET'S GET 'EM!"

With this last comment, the group of youaki charge and you and Gojyo…

Gojyo pushes you out of the way and starts to lay into the attacking youkai.

"Get outta here, _!"

"No," you reply as you take out a nearby youkai, "Like hell I will."

"BAKA ONNA[4]!" Gojyo shouts at you, just as the majority of the youkai attack him, leaping on top of him.

You lose sight of your friend for a moment and, feeling a mixture of worry and anger, you delve into the left sleeve of your keokoji and pull out a paper talisman.

"Janja itai…" you chant, "Ana no yami!"

You launch the talisman at the youkai. A black hole forms near to them and sucks all of the youkai into it one by one, leaving only you and Gojyo behind.

"Do I even wanna know?" Gojyo asks, walking over to you with a bleeding cut on his forehead.

"Probably not," you take a tissue from your keokogi sleeve and lean up to clean his wound. Unexpectedly, Gojyo puts his arms around you and hugs you to his body.

"If you're going to use talismans then just promise me that you won't…" he whispers in your ear, trailing off, unable to say the last few words.

"I won't," you rest your hands on his shoulders, "I promise."

Translations

[1] Gomen Nasai – I'm really sorry

[2] Kisama – Bastard

[3] Kuso - shit

[4] Baka Onna – Stupid woman


	7. I Don't Know You Anymore

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Chapter 7 – I Don't Know You Anymore**

With your arms full, you manage to knock on the door, awaiting an answer. It was pretty early but you assume that they'd be awake. Then again, you haven't heard any sounds from within the room...

You are dressed well today, you're wearing a purple kimono with a golden obi, you're going up to the temple, for an anniversary. Slowly the door opens and a half-dressed priest stands there, his gun aimed at you. You look at him with a sweatdrop.

"What the hell do you want?" he asks you moodily.

"Uh..." you gasp, bowing and holding out to the priest the Shakujou and Nyoi Bo, along with a round of Dispersing bullets (similar to banishing bullets but not as complicated to make nor as effective). "I've serviced these weapons and, for my rudeness yesterday I have some dispersing bullets to give to you so that you have enough arms until the banishing bullets are ready."

"Hn..." the Priest takes the bullets and leaving the weapons in your arms, slamming the door behind him.

You stand where you are, a little dazed for a moment, surprised by the priest's short temperedness. You stare at the closed door for a moment before you hear voices behind you.

"_(y/n)_? What's up?" one asks you. You turn around and see Gojyo standing there, accompanied by the boy and dark-haired man.

"I... Uh, brought your weapons back and some bullets for the priest..." you say quietly, you really aren't in the mood for Sanzo's rudeness today.

"What did the bastard do?" Gojyo puts his hands on your shoulders as you shake your head.

"Nothing, he was just a little rude..."

"I'll get that kisama!" Gojyo storms past you and into the room.

"I'm sorry about that, Miss." the dark-haired man tells you, "Sanzo seems to be in a worse mood than usual today. By the way, My name is Hakkai."

"Pleased to meet you." you bow.

"How does Gojyo know a nice girl like you?" the boy asks, taking both weapons from you.

"We lived in the same village when we were small. Well I best be on my way, say goodbye to Gojyo for me." You hear several gunshots and shouts from the room behind you.

"Take care Miss _(y/n)_." Hakkai tells you, a sweatdrop on his forehead.

"Will do!" You reply, walking away from them and out of the inn.

~Gojyo's POV~

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY TO HER, YOU PHONEY MONK!" you yell at Sanzo as you walk into the room, he's sitting in the corner, a box of what looks like bullets in front of him, smoking a cigarette and drinking some beer. He looks more depressed than usual but you're too angry with him to care.

"What are you talking about?" Sanzo asks you calmly, making you twitch.

"She was standing in the hallway and said that you were rude, kisama[1]!"

"Cih, I took what was mine and closed the door, okay baka[2]?" Sanzo stubs out his cigarette and then lights another one.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" you grab Sanzo by his collar, only to feel his gun against the side of your head. You drop him and back awa, "What did she ever do to you?"

"Nothing now piss off, I'm having a bad day." he cocks his gun and turns away from you.

"DON'T TURN AWAY FROM ME, YOU SASSY, BUDDHA-THUMPING PRIEST!" you shout at him only to feel a volley of bullets sweep past on either side of you, barely missing and actually grazing one of your legs slightly.

"I thought I told you to piss off." He then makes a move to leave.

"Where the hell are you going now?"

"Out."

~Your POV~

You slowly ascend the hill to the temple; you are going there to pray. Today is the anniversary of Koumyou Sanzo's death, of Koryuu's death (or so you believe) and of the true death of your brother, when the talismans took him. You know that the priests are expecting you; you went there last year for the same reason.

The abbot and one of the other monks stand waiting for you at the gates of the temple, leading you within the grounds. They take you to a small garden in which three small gravestones have been placed (Japanese-style gravestones, not western ones). The one in the middle, which is the largest, has 'Koumyou Sanzo' written in it in Kanji. On the smallest is written 'Koryuu' in Kanji and the middle-sized one says 'Shuei'. You kneel down before them and clean them up a bit, they're not too dirty since the monks keep them well looked after, and place offerings and incense down in front of them. You then start to pray and allow yourself to feel the pain of losing them.

~Sanzo's POV~

You walk towards the hill at the edge of the town. You know there is a temple there and, although usually you'd avoid it at all costs, today you feel that you need to go there. At the gates you are met buy a large group of monks who greet you.

The monks all gather around you as you walk through the grounds, asking you to preach but you refuse, at least until the abbot comes to greet you.

"Genjo Sanzo-Sama, you honour us with your presence of this sad day." he says to you, seeming to already know your reason for being at the temple, "Please follow me and you can pray to for him," you follow reluctantly.

You follow the abbot to a small courtyard garden where you see a woman knelt before three gravestones; your masters, your friends and yours...

~Your POV~

You quietly pray to yourself, ignoring the abbot who seems to have returned to the garden with a companion. Someone kneels down beside you but you keep your eyes closed; only the smell of old smoke giving you any clue to whom it may be. You continue to ignore the person and pray silently.

"Who are you?" a familiar voice asks you, a voice that was abrupt and rude to you earlier.

"Does it matter? Please leave me alone."

"How do you know Koumyou Sanzo, Shuei?"

"Shuei... He was... close to me," you don't want to reveal too much to a stranger, "It doesn't matter, I'm being pathetic really..." you sigh.

"Why?"

"I-I don't want to believe... that he's dead..." You look down at the ground, "I'm imitating a strong person for Taisho and Gojyo but…"

"But?"

"But I want to believe in strength..." You weep, allowing your tears for fall freely, "I want to believe in strength but I can't until I find out who killed him."

"Maybe you would have more strength if you were to know that 'Koryuu' did not die." the man tells you, you open your eyes and look at Sanzo for the first time since he's been sat beside you, "He was given a holy name on the night of his master's death."

"D-Do you know what name he was given?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to find him, to see if he remembers me..." Sanzo gives you a quizzical look at this statement.

"Shuei, he was my Onii-chan[3], h-he introduced me to Koryuu and, we were friends..."

"Genjo Sanzo." Sanzo tells you, "That's what they named him."

"You mean that you? I didn't recognise you..." you admit throwing your arms around Sanzo's neck and crying softly, "I thought that they had killed you..."

"G-Gomen nasai[4]..." Sanzo whispers, holding you back.

~Sanzo's POV~

Br"Who are you?" you ask Gojyo's friend as you kneel down beside her. You know that you recognise her but can't place her. The fact that she knows of the death of your master and your old name bothers you further.

"Does it matter?" she appears sad and you can see that she wants you to leave her alone, but you have no intention of doing that until things are sorted out.

"How do you know Koumyou Sanzo, Shuei?" you're not going to leave without an answer.

"Shuei... he was... close to me," you know that she's hiding something from you, "It doesn't matter, I'm being pathetic really..." she sighs, you look at her, confused as to why she is 'pathetic'.

"Why?" now you're more curious and determined to get your answer.

"I don't want to believe... that he's dead..."

'iCih,/i' you think to yourself, 'iNo one wants to believe that someone they care about is dead, baka./i' but you somehow manage to hold your tongue.

"I'm imitating a strong person for Taisho and Gojyo but…"

"But?" you really want to know what the hell she's talking about.

"But I want to believe in strength... I want to believe in strength but I can't until I find out who killed him..."

i'Like I'm gonna tell you that.'/i you think to yourself, the image of his death still too clear in your memory, even though you know that it's what he wanted. You sigh and, feeling sorry for the girl, you decide to give her some sort of hope.

"Maybe you would have more strength if you were to know that 'Koryuu' did not die." she looks at you expectantly, "he was given a holy name on the night of his master's death."

"D-Do you know what name he was given?" you see the pleading in her eyes.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to find him, to see if he remembers me..." you give her a confused look, why would you remember her? Did you know her? You just can't work it out. "Shuei, he was my Onii-chan..." That's when it dawns on you, you did know her; she came to the temple quite frequently with her brother and you two had become quite good friends, _ was her name, "H-he introduced me to Koryuu and, we were friends..."

"Genjo Sanzo. That's what they named him," she looks at you shocked.

"You mean that you?" she stares at you as you look guiltily back her, guilty for forgetting her. Unexpectedly, she throws her arms around your neck and starts to cry, "I thought that they had killed you..."

"G-Gomen nasai..." you whisper, apologising for forgetting her, as you hold her warmly in your embrace.

Translations:

[1] Kisama – bastard

[2] baka – Idiot

[3] Onii-chan – Big brother

[4] Gomen nasai – I'm sorry


	8. The Cape of Storms

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Part 8 – The Cape of Storms**

You head back down from the temple accompanied by Sanzo, an understanding silence surrounding the two of you. You are surprised to see Gojyo, Taisho, Goku and Hakkai standing at the entrance of the town, seemingly waiting for your return. Gojyo and Taisho seem to be habitually arguing whilst the other two are looking at them with sweatdrops. Distracted, they don't see you and Sanzo approaching them.

"What are you all doing here?" you ask curiously, as Sanzo lights up a cigarette, he hasn't smoked since he went to the temple.

"_!" both Gojyo and Taisho shout, rushing to your side.

"Are you okay?" Taisho asks with concern.

"Did the kisama[1] ido/i anything to you?" Gojyo asks.

"What do you take me for kappa[2]?" Sanzo growls, his Smith and Wesson held against Gojyo's temple.

"K-Kisama."

"Please don't fight!" you beg. Sanzo slowly removes the gun from Gojyo's head and you sigh with relief, "Now, why don't we go get something to eat?" the others nod in agreement, none more so than Goku, mind you.

You head back to the Kiroro Inn as a group, where you intend to eat. You walk in silence, Taisho and Gojyo on either side of you, occasionally glaring at each other and then glancing at you and Sanzo, wondering what they missed whilst you were at the temple.

You sit down at a table, this time between Sanzo and Gojyo, the other three sitting opposite you guys and order your food.

You eat in silence, apart from the occasional argument between Goku and Gojyo or Taisho and Gojyo, even Sanzo's pretty quiet.

Once you have all finished, you split up, Taisho heads back to the shop, Sanzo, Goku and Hakkai to their room whilst you and Gojyo go for a walk together.

"So... What happened with Sanzo?" Gojyo asks you suspiciously once you are alone.

"I found out who he was. I didn't recognise him one bit."

"I see. But you recognise me, right?"

"How could I not? I don't think I could forget you even if I tried!"

"I'll take that..." Gojyo says, moving his face so that it is very close to yours, "As a compliment."

"Perhaps!" you wink at him whilst poking your tongue out, teasing him.

"Man, I've missed you, _." he slumps down under a tree while you laugh and sit down beside him.

"Of course you have, yup I definitely believe that."

"Oi, you should believe it, it's true." Gojyo insists, gently pulling your head round to face him, "I just didn't realise quite how much until I saw you again."

"Oh really?" you raise an eyebrow, "Perhaps you right, I don't think I realise how much I missed you either until you came here. I guess I haven't had time to miss anyone really, we've moved around so much there just isn't the time. But you know what's worrying me most, Gojyo?"

"What?" he gently wraps his arm around your waist.

"The part where you leave again…" you sigh, looking up at the setting sun, "I know you have to go but I can't help but wonder if you'll come back..."

"I'll come back, that's a promise. But I was worried that, if I came back, you'd have gone..."

"Then I promise that I won't go anywhere until you return," you look up into his deep, red eyes.

"Then its settled." he agrees, leaning forward and gently placing his lips on yours.

You break the kiss and lean your head in the crook of his neck as he pulls you closer. He sighs and leans his head on top of yours and you just sit together completely content.

"You know, I'd invite you back to mine, if I wasn't sharing with four other guys!" Gojyo comments as he kisses your forehead.

"I'd say come back to mine, but I think Taisho would kick you out. Especially since we've both got to be up early tomorrow, we've got a big order to complete."

"Then you should really get back, we could do something tomorrow night?"

"Sounds like a better idea." you agree, standing yourself up. Gojyo follows your lead, only he wraps his arms around you and kisses you tenderly. You kiss him back but, after a few moments you break the kiss, heading back to the inn arm in arm.

You get to the dividing point, where you split off to go back to the shop and Gojyo goes to the inn and hug Gojyo tightly.

"You sure you'll be alright?"

"I'll be fine." you assure him, smiling, "I know this town well enough to know my way home."

"I'm sure you do but it doesn't mean that I won't worry... Anyway, I was kinda hoping that you'd say yes and let me stay the night anyway!"

"Only you..." you hit him playfully, "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course." he kisses you one final time before you head your separate ways, "Oyasumi nasai[3], _!"

"Oyasumi nasai Gojyo!" you call back as you head towards the shop.

You hurry down the dimly lit street, wanting to get home quickly. However, as you reach the shop, you notice that it is completely dark; there are no lights on and no sign of life. You run round to the back of the shop, hoping that Taisho is working in the garden or something but, from the sight that meets your eyes, you couldn't have been more wrong.

You garden is ablaze, the shop only protected from the flames that are licking its frame by the talismans that you cast. There are youkai[4] covering your garden, some lay slain on the ground whilst there is a large number in one area together, seeming to be trying to corner something... Taisho. He looks worn out and is bleeding in several places, obviously from fighting the youkai, in his hands, a long sword for self defence.

You run towards him, worried for your friend's safety, however you don't have your talismans or any other weapons with you; you didn't intend to get into any fights today of all days.

Before you even reach Taisho, a burning pain hits your right shoulder and you can feel a warm liquid running down your back and chest. You don't stop to look at your injury; instead you carry on running towards your endangered friend. You see a large youkai coming at you from the left and, knowing that you cannot get past him, you prepare your body for the collision.

The youkai body slams you hard, knocking you way off balance and to the ground; you weren't expecting him to be quite so powerful. A weight is immediately on top of you, pinning you to the ground so that you can't escape.

"Just who we were waiting for," a voice says, a pair of highly polished boots coming into your view (note: you're face down on the ground, you can't see a whole lot!). You look up at the man but his face is shadowed by the fading light and dimming flames.

You arms are bound behind your back and your feet shackled together, so that you cannot kick out. You are then dragged to your feet and pushed forward. You look around, desperately searching the yard for Taisho, you find him in a similar situation to yourself.

Your next objective is to locate the youkai leader but you cannot see the man with the highly polished shoes anywhere and none of the others seem smart enough to be their leader. The youkai that is holding you pushes you forward, indicating for you to move along with the rest of them, however you protest, trying to push back against the youkai, who you soon realise is the burly youkai that knocked you down in the first place and you don't stand much chance when it comes to overpowering him.

Reluctantly, you relent and allow yourself to be led away from your home, the village and Gojyo...

~Gojyo's POV~

You arrive back at the inn with a smile plastered on your face and a dazed look in your eye. You walk into your room, to see a room full of enquiring faces.

"What?"

"Where've you been?" Goku asks, grinning stupidly.

"You'd better not have." Sanzo growls.

"Not have what you damned priest?" you snap back but your smile immediately returns, "But we're meeting up tomorrow night!"

"But first you'll have to convince her, Gojyo." Goku chirps, "I bet she's not interested in a kappa like you."

"I don't know what you're talking about! I'm going to take her out to dinner, then, I don't know, a romantic walk..." you pause at the feeling of a gun against your temple.

"Where's the real Gojyo?" Sanzo asks you coldly.

"WHAT?"

"Now, now Sanzo," Hakkai interjects calmly, "That iis/i the real Gojyo, only I think... he's in love."

"WHAT?" both you, Sanzo and Goku exclaim.

"With who?" Goku asks naively.

"What do you mean by 'what'?" Sanzo growls at you.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about." you defend yourself, "I've never been in love."

"Aw, come on Gojyo, she makes you feel special right?" Hakkai asks you, you don't say anything, not wanting to agree even though you know it's true, you're kind of scared at the thought that you could be in love, "And you hate it when she's not around, the thought of her being with other guys drives you nuts..."

Hakkai doesn't get to finish his explanation of love because the door of your room swings open and a scared-looking girl stands in the doorway.

"Quickly! Come on!" she shouts at you all, you look at her blankly, "You iare/i friends of _ and Taisho's, are you not? There's trouble, a fire at the shop! Youkai have attacked them!"

Needing no further encouragement, you stand, grab your Shakujou and head out of the door, running towards the Weapons Shop.

"Yup, he's in love..." you miss the other three comment as you leave, they follow closely after you.

You arrive at the Weapon's shop just as the fire is being put out. Most of the townsfolk are there, trying to extinguish the blaze, which seems to have not touched the house. That's when you notice the talismans on the sides. It's obvious to you that these saved the building.

"Where is she?" you shout, "Where is _?"

"We... We don't know," one of the town's elders tells you, "Neither she nor Taisho have been found out here. None of the identifiable bodies are theirs."

"What about inside?"

"They are not there," the elder replies," or at least their talismans are keeping us out."

"Hiroshi-sama[5]!" a woman calls, dragging a small boy over to you and the elder, "My son, he says he saw what happened, tell them Yun."

"I saw them... the youkai took _-san and Taisho-san with them! The captured them!" the boy tells you nervously, you can tell from the look on his face that he's telling the truth, "Will _-san be okay, Okaa-san[6]?" you pat the kid's head and kneel down in front of him smiling.

"Don't worry 'bout it, kid. _'s going to be just fine." you tell him, "Onii-san[7] here's gonna go get her back from those youkai safely."

You turn around to see Sanzo, Hakkai and Goku standing behind you.

"What are you waiting for baka?" Sanzo asks coldly, "Let's go."

"Yeah, it's time to kick some youkai ass!" Goku agrees.

"And then you can tell _-san that you love her." Hakkai teases.

Translations:

[1] kisama – bastard

[2] kappa – water sprite

[3] oyasumi nasai – good night

[4] youkai – demon

[5] –sama – honorific used for a person of higher rank/status

[6] okaa-san – mother

[7] onii-san – big brother


	9. Hello My Treacherous Friends

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Chapter 9 – Hello My Treacherous Friends**

~Your POV~

The youkai drag you and Taisho off to a desolate building some way south of the village, hidden deep in the forest. The lead you down to the ancient dungeons beneath the building and chain you against the walls of the cells, the door of which seems long since broken. Taisho is chained beside you and hangs there limply, he is barely conscious.

You wait in the dark for a while before you hear footsteps approaching you and can make out a pair of highly polished boots reflecting the dim glow of a candle.

"Who are you?" you growl angrily.

"That is not important. I have brought you here on the orders of my employer, but we can't have you dying on us," his attention turned to the youkai behind him, "Guards, bring nurses for the boy." You hear the guards agree and their footsteps hurry away from the cell.

"What does your iemployer/i want with us?" you question in a hoarse whisper.

"You'll have to wait and see. For now, I just have to make sure that you are both alive and… respectably… well," he then walks out of the room leaving you to ponder on the reasons for your kidnap.

~Gojyo's POV~

You follow the scent of youkai southwards, away from the village. The stench of death fills your nostrils as you move deeper into the forest making you very worried for _ and even for Taisho.

You soon come to a dead end, though the youkai scent, and the death scent, seems to linger here most.

"Where are they damnit?" you growl, looking around frantically.

"They've gone underground," Sanzo says thoughtfully, "But how?"

"A switch perhaps?" Hakkai suggests logically.

"Hey! Goku exclaims, drawing the attention of the rest of you, "Someone's coming!"

"Let's take cover and see what happens," Hakkai suggests. Sanzo and Goku agree, you are a little more reluctant; _ is in there and you're worried about what they might do to her.

Before you can be too decisive, a hand grabs your collar and drags you into some nearby bushes, just in time to keep hidden from the men now approaching the 'dead end'.

~Your POV~

Two female youkai soon enter your cell, one attending to Taisho and the other to you, dressing your wounds nervously and hurriedly. They're not exactly gentle with you and obviously don't want to be anywhere near you. They're just going their job.

Once the two have finished tending to you, they leave quickly, leaving you and Taisho alone in the dark, in silence. You are unsure about what to say to Taisho. You don't know what happened exactly and you certainly don't wish to sound accusing.

"Are… Are you okay?" you ask eventually.

"Been better… you?"

"A little winded, nothing bad," you lie, you're actually in quite a lot of pain, "what happened?"

"I'm not really sure… but there were too many of them… they wanted to get into the shop…"

"So they probably wanted our weapons…"

"But your talismans protected the shop. That's a good thing."

"I guess… but then why would they take us? It's common knowledge that you can't get into our shop unless we are there…"

Your words are interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming down the stone stairs towards the cells. You silence yourself, not wanting the enemy to know that you are trying to figure out their motives.

Lights move down the corridor and the youkai with the shiny shoes enters the cell, followed by a cloaked figure close at his heels.

"These are the two," the shiney-shoes youkai tells his cloaked companion, "The ningen[1] girl and boy

"Good…" the clocked figure answers in an eerie manner, "You may leave now Tetsuo."

"Call me if you need anything," the shiny-shoes youkai, Tetsuo, bows to the cloaked man and takes his leave.

"Now then, what to do with you two…" the cloaked man's attention turns back to you and Taisho. You can just about make out a smirk plastered on his face.

~Gojyo's POV~

You watch from the bushes as a group of figures approach the clearing from the opposite side to you. You can sense that the majority of them are youkai, however one alone seems human. As the figures come into view, you notice that they are all wearing brown cloaks, all apart from one, whose cloak is black. They start to tap on the stone face blocking your way until it makes a hollowed sound. On hearing this sound, one youkai traces his hand vertically down the rock surface to the ground where, after moving some shrubbery out of the way, he appears to flick some sort of switch.

A rumbling sound then fills the forest as the stone face parts, revealing a dark passageway behind it. The youkai all file into the passage as the rock draws shut behind them.

"Alright then, let's follow 'em!" Goku suggests excitedly, running out into the open. You hang back, much more cautious than your monkey companion, "What are you waiting for? Let's get _ back!"

"This could be a trap…" Hakkasi comments calmly.

"That may be so, but then again, if they were after us then they would have come after us like usual," Sanzo mutters, lighting a cigarette.

"So what are we waiting for?" Goku chirps.

"The monkey's right," you sigh, "Trap or not, I'm not just gonna leave _ there."

"Hurry up then," Sanzo demands as he takes the lead, heading back towards the rock face.

~Your POV~

"Who are you?" you ask the cloaked man coldly, not liking his aura.

"That doesn't matter," the man tells you, a strange tone to his voice, "It is what I am here for that is important."

"What is it that you want?" Taisho growls, his anger very evident.

"The weapons that you two construct are admirable even by youkai standards and have come to the attention of my Lady Koushu."

"The youkai? The wife of Gyumaoh?" you question with surprise.

"That's right. You are now on orders to make your weapons for our youkai warriors, for the Gyumaoh revival."

"Don't cound on it," you snarl, disgusted with the idea of working for Gyumaoh.

"We'd rather die," Taisho adds.

"Funny you should say that… because that's what will happen if you refuse."

Translations:

[1] ningen - human


	10. Protégé Moi

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Chapter 10 – Protégé Moi**

~Start~

You glare at the man in front of you with hatred. You're not afraid to die but you don't particularly want to, after all, you've only just found Gojyo again and you want to spend some more time with him. However, you certainly have no intention of making weapons for Gyukomen Koushu, for the revival of the youkai who would kill you before looking at you. The man's attention turned to Taisho, probably believing him to be the weaker link. He walks over to him and holds his chin tightly, forcing Taisho to look at him.

"How about you? Do you wish to die as much as her?" Taisho looks away from the man's cold gaze, trying to free himself to no prevail, "As long as one of you lives then her ladyship will be happy."

There is a long silence before Taisho makes eye contact again with the cloaked man. You notice Taisho's expression falter and the man smirks, noticing the weakness. You hold your breath, fearing that Taisho may have cracked under the current pressure.

"I will never betray _ or our business," Taisho growls through gritted teeth before spitting at the man, hitting him square between the eyes. The man steps back in surprise and disgust, wiping his face quickly on his sleeve before glaring at Taisho coldly.

"Then you will both be killed," he snaps, heading towards the exit, "however I will give you twelve hours to reconsider your answer. Perhaps some gentle persuasion will help…"

~Gojyo's POV~

Quickly you make your way through the dark corridors deeper into the strange building of which you had uncovered a secret entrance. You have come across very few youkai and they have all been taken care of without you so much as breaking a sweat and without them alerting anyone else to your presence.

You soon come across a room in which you find a large group of cloaked youkai and one with expectionally shiny, black shoes, who seem to be waiting for someone, or something. The four of you manage to heave yourselves up into the luckily very sturdy air vent above you and, moving through it slightly, you find yourselves above the room just as another figure walks in, shutting the door behind him.

"Well, did they submit?" the shiny-shoe youkai questions as the new comer takes a seat.

"No…" the replies, his cloak hiding his features from you, "but then we never expected them to, did we mister rabbit?" he pulls a plush rabbit from his cloak.

"No, they're too stubborn to just take the nice offer given to them…" the rabbit replies, or rather the cloaked new comer says in a childish voice as if the rabbit is speaking.

"What would you like me to do about it?"

"Gentle persuasion… Your methods are renown, Tetsuo the Torture Youkai. They'll undoubtedly come around with some of your persuasive charm!" the man replies through the rabbit.

"Of course. I'll get started right away," Tetsuo bows and leaves the room.

Without waiting for your companions, you leap down from the air vent, following Tetsuo stealthily from a distance, hoping that he will lead you to _.

~Your POV~

You relentlessly struggle to free yourself. You know that you can't break the chains but so dearly want to that you don't care if you wear yourself out while trying. About ten minutes after the cloaked stranger left you, Taisho returns with a trolley of vicious looking instruments. You stop your struggling and your eyes widen in fear. Tetsuo picks up a thumb screw from the table and advances towards Taisho.

"We'll start easy, right?" Tetsuo attaches the thumb screw to Taisho's right thumb.

"If you break his thumb, he'll never be able to do as you want. He'll never make a weapon again!" you shout, trying to buy some time. Tetsuo pauses.

"Perhaps you're right," he sighs and removes the thumbs screw, returning it to the table, "Now, what parts of your body don't you need?" he starts to rummage through the instruments when a shadow appears in the doorway.

"Now, what kind of man would consider using one of those nasty looking things on a lady?" the shadowed figure asks.

"Who are you?" Tetsuo turns to face the man, "How did you get in here?"

"Your defences aren't that brilliant," you recognise the voice and sigh with relief, "And you obviously aren't getting any if this is the way you treat women."

"Gojyo!" you exclaim as he walks into the room, his shakujou at the ready.

"Sha Gojyo," Tetsuo growls looking at Gojyo with narrowe eyes, "who would have thought that you'd be involved in this."

"Anything that involves imy/i girl involves me," Gojyo glances momentarily at you before fixing his gaze back on Tetsuo.

"Interesting… who would have thought? They will certainly be pleased to hear this back at Houtou Castle!"

"Pity you ain't gonna get back there to tell them then, isn't it?"

"Is that so?" Tetsuo smirks and picks up a pair of Bugnuks from the table, clenching his fists around the soft pads so that the claws of the bugnuks are revealed, "Let's find out, shall we?"

"The sooner you're dead, the sooner we're outta here," Gojyo replies as the two charge at each other…


	11. In Her Eyes

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Chapter 11 – In Her Eyes**

Gojyo's shakujou and Tetsuo's bugnuks clash with a loud clang. The pair then leap away from each other, colliding in yet another great clash of metal. Once again they part but this time Gojyo releases the chain of his shakujou, catching Tetsuo off guard. However, skilled as a fighter and with swift hearing, Tetsuo manages to dodge the crescent blade and launches at Gojyo with an attack of his own.

Tetsuo's bugnuks slice into Gojyo's left shoulder, the three claws tearing the skin more so as Gojyo pulls back.

"K-Kisama[1]!" Gojyo growls, looking at his injured arm in disgust, "you'll pay for that!"

Gojyo and Tetsuo charge at each other once again as the real fight begins.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Sanzo-ikkou have made their way down to the cells, as have hordes of youkai.

"Well this is an unforeseen turn of events…" Taisho comments from where he is chained beside you, "for once I have to say it was a good thing that Gojyo was around!"

"I agree," you sigh, focusing on Gojyo's battle.

"Don't worry, _. He'll win, everything will be okay."

"I hope so Taisho, I really do…"

~Sanzo's POV~

The youkai numbers are slowly diminishing as you, Goku and Hakkai fight through them. You are keeping half an eye on _ and Taisho, you don't want anything to happen to her, that'd really piss you off.

You quickly take care of the youkai in your vicinity and head towards the wall that _ is chained to. You are almost there when three youkai block your path, pissing you off further.

"Don't worry about these guys, Sanzo!" Goku tells you, jumping into the fray, "They're mine!"

You nod an understanding to Goku and carry on towards _ only to be sidetracked by another bunch of angry youkai.

"No worries, Sanzo," Hakkai called to you from where he is standing by _ and Taisho, waving a set of keys at you, "I'll have them down in a sec!"

You sigh with relief as Hakkai starts to free your old friend and you continue to blast the youkai…

~Your POV~

Hakkai quickly release you from the chains and you immediately take to fighting. You use your talismans on many of the youkai whilst Taisho uses his fists.

You try to keep half an eye on Gokyo, but it's becoming increasingly difficult with the growing numbers of youkai coming down into the cells. You give up trying to see him and hope that he's okay when an idea comes to you. You reach into the right hand sleeve of your keokogi and pull out a small, thin box. You open the box to reveal two talismans, one of which your brother had used and in doing so became Rikudo, taken from hid body and the other, 'the Hand of Oria'.

The Hand of Oria, the talisman that your brother had given you for protection many years ago. There was only one, one Hand of Oria, your brother had given it to you and had therefore had to use the Curse of Oria, which resulted in the end of his life.

You gulp and activate the Hand of Oria and, for the next few minutes, everything becomes a blur…

~Sanzo's POV~

From out of nowhere, a bright light shines from _ and every youkai she touches disintegrates. Her speed and agility has increased tenfold and she takes the youkai out mercilessly, like a demon herself.

Within minutes, all of the youaki in the room, apart from Tetsuo, Goku, Hakkai and Gojyo (half-demon but nonetheless) are gone, nothing remaining of them but dust on the ground.

At this point, panting heavily, _ falls to her hands and knees, gasping and apparently severely weakened.

"_!" you hear Taisho yell, running over to her, "you idiot! Why did you use the Hand of Oria?"

~Your POV~

"S-Sorry…" you apologise on hearing Taisho's angry exclamation as you take his hand and struggle to your feet, "But it only physically weakens me for a while, there's no lasting effect."

"Wow! That was so cool!" Goku exclaims, running over to you, "How'd you do that?"

"Are you okay Miss _?" Hakkai asked, assisting Taisho in helping you to stand.

"Why'd you take the risk?" Sanzo growls at you, taking a drag on his cigarette.

"Because there were too many of them. It had to be done."

"What about that guy Gojyo's fighting?" Goku questions, "Why didn't you get rid of him too?"

"Because that's not my fight. Gojyo would never forgive me for doing that."

Meanwhile, Gojyo and Tetsuo's fight didn't seem to be getting any easier. Both Gojyo and Tetsuo are covered in injuries and seem to be tiring. However, neither is ready to accept defeat just yet, though their energy levels are at a critical low.

"You ready to surrender yet?" Gojyo growls at Tetsuo cockily.

"Not by a long shot!"

"Cih, yeah right. Tell you what; we're both tiring, let's finish this in one more attack? I'll kill you in this one shot, you got it?"

"One more attack, fine with me. Better say goodbye to your girl before this is all over and you've lost."

"There's no need," Gojyo spits back as the two charge at each other in one, final assault.

You hold your breath as Gojyo and Tetsuo charge, hoping that Gojyo has enough strength left to deal the final bow. Your eyes are intently fixed upon your long time friend, your love and tired as you are, you fail to focus on Tetsuo. You breathe out as Gojyo's shakujou slices straight through the youkai that kidnapped you, from his hip through his chest and out of the opposing shoulder. You feel relieved but wonder why Taisho has just pushed you. However, you believe things can only get better… until Taisho collapses in front of you…

~Gojyo's POV~

You're tiring, you know that and you don't know how much more strength you can muster. Tetsuo turned out to be a much more challenging opponent than you had first thought and you're now regretting your cockiness.

"You ready to surrender yet?" you growl at Tetsuo, still acting cocky in an attempt to look confident.

"Not by a long shot!" his face wears a cruel smirk and his eyes never leave yours.

"Cih, yeah right," you know that _ believes in you and you want to prove her right, you want to show her the man you've become, "Tell you what, we're both tiring, let's finish this in one more attack? I'll kill you in this one shot, you got it?"

"One more attack, fine with me," Tetsuo agrees, his eyes lighting up at the prospect, "Better say goodbye to your girl before this is all over and you've lost."

"There's no need," you hope that you are correct in this statement as you charge at each other.

As you and Tetsuo move into range, the youkai reaches into the breast pocket of his shirt, pulling out a medley of assorted throwing weapons, a sly smile on his face. You raise your shakujou, releasing the crescent blade in a hope to hit Tetsuo before he hits you, only to realise his intentions. As your shakujou starts to slice through his flesh, Tetsuo throws the assortment of weapons behind him… towards _...

You retract your weapon and run forward, only to stop dead at the sight before you… Taisho…

~Your POV~

"Taisho? What's wrong?" you questions, weakly moving towards him. As you draw closer, you see blood seeping out of his lifeless body, "TAISHO?" you yell in panic.

Gojyo is quickly at your side and, with his and Hakkai's help, you turn Taisho over, tears welling up in your eyes at the sight. His body is full of throwing weapons penetrating his arms, legs, neck and torso.

"T-Taisho…" you murmur, moving to your childhood friend's head, "Please speak to me…"

"G-good…" comes a muffled reply as Taisho's eyes open slightly, tears welling in them, "you're okay…"

"Baka[2]! Why?"

"I couldn't think of another way to save you… after using the Hand of Oria all of your senses and reflexes are more or less diminished… you didn't even know that they were coming…"

"Hakkai!" Gojyo requests, "Can you heal him?" Hakkai nods and moves to start healing the wounds, only for Taisho himself to stop him.

"T-They are poisoned… I can feel the poison in my blood… I have no time left…"

"Why? Taisho, why?" you sob, shaking your head in disbelief. How can you be losing your 'best friend'? "Don't leave me Taisho, please!"

"Because I am not a hero… I am not an angel… I am just a man… a man who has always loves you _... Gojyo…" Taisho requests, holding onto your hand.

"Yeh?" Gojyo asks, not sure how to act, he and Taisho were never friends but both felt the same about you. Taisho takes his hand and puts it on top of yours.

"Look after her for me… please…" he begs, tears freely falling down his face and he coughs and blood trickles out of the corner of his mouth, "_, know that I am happy to die like this… that I always wanted to protect you… you have always been there to help me… thank you… I will always l-lo…ve..y…" his words trail off a gurgle as his last breath passes his lips…

Translations:

[1] kisama – bastard

[2] baka - idiot


	12. Truly Madly Deeply

… _**And so we've arrived at the penultimate chapter!**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Part 12 – Truly, Madly, Deeply**

Slowly, you awaken to the smell of something good cooking. You open your eyes and find yourself alone in a foreign room. It takes you a moment before you recall the events of the previous day. Gojyo had brought you back to their room to sleep after Taisho's death. He didn't want to leave you on your own nor did he think you were ready to go back to your place yet.

You quickly get to your feet and rush out into the main living area, hoping that you have not slept for too long. You find the Sanzo-ikkou sat at the dining table, eating breakfast silently. You see and empty seat with food at it, set between Sanzo and Gojyo, and you notice Gojyo silently indicating for you to sit there.

You eat in silence until Sanzo eventually decides to break it.

"If you can arrange things quickly, we will stay with you until he is buried." You nod, taking in the information but finding yourself unsure of how to answer him. You eventually manage a weak and barely audible 'thank you' and leave it at that.

A little while later, you find yourself and Gojyo at the undertakers where you have to fill out all of the official paperwork. As it happens, Sanzo had anticipated your wished and had already spoken with the priest about laying Taisho to rest there. You and Gojyo just have to finalise things and the funeral can go ahead this very afternoon.

Soon enough, all paperwork was completed and you and Gojyo return to your house to dress for the sombre occasion.

Almost the entire town turned out for Taisho's funeral though, considering that the town was not very big, this was not too surprising. In the two years that you and Taisho have been living in the town, you have made some pretty good friends who are all sharing with you the sadness of losing Taisho.

The service takes place at the small chapel situated on the edge of town. You just about mange to make an emotional speech but, as soon as you retake your seat, you break down, unable to hide your pain any longer.

You stand in Gojyo's arms as Taisho's body is taken to the crematorium and you allow him to take you back to your home. You do not feel that, at this moment, you can attend Taisho's wake (which is taking place at the local tavern), the pain is too raw.

It certainly wasn't romantic, the love you felt of Taisho, it was more of a brotherly love, yet if anything, that made it hurt all the more, knowing that he was gone. You had spent the last seven years of your life travelling with him and him alone, he was the person who knew you best of the entire planet! You had been through everything together and yet now he had given his life for you, and this meant you were now alone.

Yes, you have Gojyo with you so you are technically not alone, but you're not stupid. You know that Gojyo will leave with Sanzo and then you will have only yourself to rely on, and look at what happened last time you got into trouble, Taisho died. Not the best track record and selfish thoughts, you know, but if you don't think like that your thoughts turn to how he died, and you blame yourself for that.

"It'll be alright," Gojyo reassures you.

"It should have been me…"

"Taisho gave his life because he didn't want you to die. I would have done the same. That's what you do when you love someone that much. You're willing to give your life for them."

You nod in reply, you know what he means. You would give your life for Gojyo and you would have for Taisho, you're just finding it hard to comprehend that someone has done it for you. Eventually you sigh.

"I should be at his wake. Will you come with me, Gojyo?" you ask as you stand. Gojyo stands also and wraps you in his embrace.

"Of course," he gently kisses your forehead.

Gojyo returns with you to your home after the wake is over. You know you have to get on with your life now, but you do not wish to spend the night alone.

You slowly started to undress, although Gojyo was in the room, if didn't feel weird, it just seemed to feel right. You undress to your underwear before Gojyo's arms wrap around you and pull you into his bare chest. He's only wearing boxers.

"_, will you make me a promise?" he asks you tenderly. You look up into his loving eyes, "Promise me that you'll wait for me to come back to you. Don't leave this place until I'm with you. I love you. I want to marry you, have children with you, grow old with you… but I can't yet so please promise me."

"I love you too, Gojyo," you lean up and passionately kiss his lips, "I promise." You whisper in his ear as you draw back from the kiss.

You see the lust in Gojyo's eyes and you yearn to feel his body closer to you. Before you can act yourself, Gojyo's lips crash against yours as his hands move up and start to fondle with your breasts through your bra. Your hands gingerly glide across his chest, sending small jolts of pleasure to the hanyou as he expertly undoes your bra, giving him better access to your breasts. Your hands move down towards Gojyo's boxers and your slip your fingers just under the rim of them, rubbing your hands lightly across such a sensitive area of his body. You can feel that he is already aroused. Whilst you tease him, Gojyo's hands move down from your breasts, his left to the lower central part of your back, holding you close to him, his right on your hip, lowering your panties.

It's not long before you are both naked; you hand gently yet firmly grips his manhood, slowly massaging it. Gojyo groans as his arousal harden further and he slowly lowers you onto the bed. His fingers expertly start playing with your clit, giving your jolts of pleasure as he glides over the sensitive area. His lips move back to yours and you make out whilst caressing each other. It's not long before you cum and Gojyo places himself over you, and slowly enters you.

You groan as his manhood penetrates you and Gojyo waits a moment for you to become accustomed to him. Soon enough, you relax and Gojyo starts to pump into you at a steady rhythm.

The rhythm of your bodies soon picks up spped as you are both thrown into an ecstasy of pleasure. You both moan as your orgasms peak and Gojyo released his seed into you.

"I love you so much…" you pant as Gojyo collapses down on top of you.

"I love you too," Gojyo replies, lying his head on your breasts, "God, I do."

The next morning, you awaken to gentle kisses from Gojyo. You make love again before reluctantly getting up. You both dress in silence, neither of you really know what to say. You know that Gojyo has to leave with the rest of the Sanzo-ikkou and that neither of you really want for him to go, yet he has to.

You make breakfast, which you both eat in silence, before heading outside to meet up with Sanzo and the others. You take with you a large box of ammunition for Sanzo and a few handy knickknacks for the others.

You stand opposite Hakeryuu in jeep form and watch as the Sanzo-ikkou finish loading the supplies. Hakkai and Goku get straight into the jeep whilst the other two hang back slightly. Sanzo stands in front of you and looks at you with, what you assume is supposed to be, a slightly sympathetic look. You try to smile back, even though it turns out to be quite pathetic. Sanzo then gets into the jeep, leaving you and Gojyo alone.

"I'll keep my promise," you tell him, trying to hold back your tears, "but first you have to make me a promise."

"Anything."

"Come back. Promise me that you'll come back," you're unable to hold back your tears any longer.

"I promise," Gojyo tells you, kissing away your tears, "I'll come back because you're waiting for me." You kiss, just a simple goodbye kiss, and Gojyo then joins the others in the jeep.

You watch the jeep leave and see Gojyo smile sadly at you, a smile that says 'I love you'. You smile back and wave him and the others off, hoping that they'll be back soon.


	13. Forever Love

_**Thus, we have reached our conclusion. Big thanks to reviewers: BlackBulletButterfly, Sakura2112 and Violetize and favouriters: kiera666!**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Gensomaden Saiyuki or you! ^^**_

**Chapter 13 (finale) – Forever Love**

~Gojyo's POV~

It's been five years but you're eventually heading back to your love having defeated the troublesome youkai in India. You can't wait to see _, you've missed her so much and you're sure that she'll still be waiting for you.

You've got to be honest, you've not exactly been one hundred per cent faithful, after all you've been away five years and men have needs. But you can't believe that _ would expect you to wear a chastity belt and it only ever been curing the physical need.

You can barely contain your excitement, but you're trying your hardest to hold it in, after all you promised you'd live so you can't risk pissing Sanzo off on the homeward leg! Saying this, said priest does seem to have mellowed somewhat in his old age (of nearly 30), neither you nor Goku can wind him up so much anymore.

Then again, speaking of Goku, he had grown up so much. He's certainly not the little brat that you used to pick on anymore. In fact, he can drink you under the table these days!

You smile to yourself thinking about it; Goku is now the same age you were when you set out on this ridiculously long journey. It has taken so long for you to complete it, you've come up against foe after foe, hiccup after hiccup along the way but at least you kept your promise. You survived.

"So how you gonna make it up to her then?" Goku asks you, seeing the dazed expression on your face.

"Oh, I've got a way. Trust me!" you certainly do have something in mind for _.

"And what would that be?" Hakkai questions curiously, looking at you in the rear-view mirror.

"Ah, now that's a secret!" you feel the cold barrel of a gun against your temple at this statement… so much for Sanzo becoming mellower eh?

"You'd better not be planning anything that will get her into trouble," Sanzo growls, obviously assuming you have something x-rated planned.

"Cut it out, kisama," you push the gun away from you as you reach into your shirt pocket and pull out a small box, "I'm gonna propose to her!" you open the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring.

"Woah… the baka hentai's eventually settling down!"

"I wondered why you kept going off shopping on your own!" Hakkai grins, "That explains it!"

"Well you know!" you can feel your cheeks heat up slightly, you never thought you'd be doing something so big, you imagined yourself a bachelor for life. However, Sanzo's glare remains at this news.

"Hurt her and die."

"I'm not gonna hurt her! Stupid, jealous priest!"

"Keep that attitude up and you won't make it back to propose," a bullet skims past your head as Sanzo's makes his warning statement. You gulp and grin nervously.

"I take it back then!" Sanzo's finger lingers on the trigger and his glare hardens, "The stupid, jealous priest bit, not hurting he!" you raise your hands defensively. Sanzo relaxes and turned back in his seat as you wipe your brow.

"Haha! That was so funny!" Goku laughs.

"Shut it monkey!"

"No, you shut it ero kappa!"

"Baka saru!"

"Perverted cockroach!"

"Stupid punk!"

After a long journey, you eventually arrive back at the village in which _ had promised to wait for you. You jump out of the jeep and allow him to transform back into his dragon form to rest a while. The four of you then head through the town towards the ship and flat that you presume _ still lives in.

You can't help but gasp when you reach the ship and fear fills you. The ship is derelict, abandoned and more-or-less in ruins.

"W-what happened?" Goku eventually utters, none of the rest of you can say anything. You can tell that Sanzo is just as shocked as you are whilst Hakkai doesn't appear to know what to say.

"Maybe she just moved out…" you reassure yourself, "Yeah, that'll be it!"

The others nod and agree with you, pessimistically I might hasten to add, and the four of you head to the local tavern to get a room and find out where _ is now living.

"Hi, please can you tell me where _ lives?" you ask the tavern receptionist desperately the minute you walk through the doors.

"_? She left the town almost five years ago," the receptionist tells you, almost as if she has been expecting you, "You must be Gojyo, she said you'd come here looking for her!"

"So where is she now?" Sanzo growls.

"Haven't a clue! I'm sure she hasn't gone too far but youkai kept coming to the village for her weapon-making skills so she shut up shop and left."

"But you don't know where she it?" Goku queried a sad tone to his voice.

"She doesn't keep in contact. All I know is that she said she was headed east."

"Alright then, we head east," Sanzo states, leaving the tavern.

"Yeah… east…" you agree as you follow him.

~Your POV~

"Jien!" you shout, walking out into your well kept garden, "Jien where are you?" there is no response but you see that the garden gate is wide open and so, in panic, you head out into the unusually quiet streets.

Jien has been with your for the past four-and-a-half years or so and you couldn't do without him. You love him so much, you're so glad that he came into your life.

Unexpectedly, you come across a rather large crowd gathered and see a dark-haired man talking to a small boy.

"Jien!" you shout, running over to the two.

"Heya _!" the man waves at you, "I was wondering what had happened to you!"

"What's going on?" you indicate towards the kafuffle, "By the way, thanks for holding on to Jien for me Aoi."

"It's not a problem! The crowd's here 'cause some big shot has come to town. Jien and I couldn't see who though!" he pat the young boy's ebony-black hair.

"Okaa-san, I wanna see!" your son whines, tugging on your shirt, "I wanna see the big shot!"

"Alright," you were never able to say no when he stared at you with those big, crimson eyes, "But you're really getting too big for this!"

"Yay!" Jien laughs as you lift him up onto your shoulders.

"So what can you see Jien?" Aoi asks.

"Bruummm car! I wanna go see it close!"

"No Jien. It's time to go home," you tell him quite sternly as you lower him from your shoulders and take his hand.

"But they have my ball! They were playing with me… but then the people pushed me… I want my ball…" Uh-oh, the tears were starting, how could you say no now?

"Okay, let's go and get your ball then…" you pick up Jien and hold him in your arms since you don't want to lose him in the crow.

Slowly, you start to push your way through the hordes of people who push back against you and, even though you're holding him tightly, you and Jien are soon split up…

"Hey Mister!" the small crimson-eyed boy asks nervously. Gojyo looks down at him and smiles.

"You want your ball back, right kid?" he asks the child expectantly. The boy's eyes light up and he nods furiously. Gojyo manages a half-smile and gives the ball back to the boy.

"Jien!" a voice calls from the crowd as a woman pushes her way to the front and promptly falls flat on her face.

"Okaa-san!" the boy runs over to the fallen woman.

You stay where you far, fallen on the ground, for a moment. You're pretty embarrassed about now but, all the same, you're used to it. Jien is a handful to say the least.

"Okaa-san, daijoubu?" Jien crouches down beside you and you grunt in reply to his question.

"Want a hand?" an all too familiar voice asks, "You should be more careful. You'll get hurt like that." The person adds, a kind of sadness in their voice. Through your bangs, you look up and see the person's hand stretched out towards you and cautiously you take it, raising yourself up.

"Well, if his father was around at least I could have the occasional break… Gojyo…" you smirk as the hanyou realises just who you are.

"_!" Goku shouts from where he is leant against the jeep-form Hakeryu, "You're here!"

"And you're… a mother?" Hakkai questions with surprise.

"_? That really you?" there's a relief and tenderness to Gojyo's voice as he questions. You give him a sweet smile and the next minute he has wrapped you warmly in his embrace, "I've missed you so much! I thought I'd lost you."

"Gojyo… I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. I had to leave. I was hoping so badly that you'd fine me…" you were pretty close to tears, you had been imagining your reunion for five years and now it's a reality.

"O-Okaa-san? Who are these people?"

"Ah Jien! You know I've told you about some very special people who had to save Shangri-la from bad people?" your son nods, "Well these are those people and this," you pull on Gojyo's shirt, "Is the most special one of all!" you wink at Jien and he seems to know exactly what you mean.

"Otou-san!" he bursts into tears and jumps at Gojyo, hugging him, "Otou-san!"

The expressions on the face of the Sanzo-ikkou would have made perfect pictures covered in shock before Gojyo grins.

"So you're Jien huh?" he asks the little boy affectionately, "Well daddy's back now and he's not going to leave you or your mummy ever again, okay?" Jien nods and grins.

"H-Hey Hakkai…" Goku questions stuttering slightly, "Shouldn't he have given her the ring first and then had a kid?"

"Well that would be politically correct Goku. But his is Gojyo we're talking about after all."

"Yeah and thanks for blabbing before I could do it properly!" Gojyo snaps having seen your surprised face at the word 'ring'. He moves one arm around Jien and puts the other into his pocket, pulling out a little box, "marry me."

You're flabbergast, you hadn't expected this. This had to be the most amazing thing to ever have happened o you, besides Jien.

"Yes!" you kiss him lightly on the cheek. Taking your hand in his, Gojyo slips the ring onto your left ring finger and grins.

"Yo Sanzo, you any good at weddings?"

"I thought I told you not to do anything bad to her?" Sanzo's harisen hit Gojyo on the back of the head hard, "But as it happens, yes I am good at weddings. It'll cost you cigarettes and beer though."

"Done! And at least you won't threaten me with that gun anymore!"

"Who says?"

"Well I can't leave my fiancé and son, I made a promise!" Gojyo grins at the priest cockily as he stands with Jien in his arms, "Home?"

"Yeah, home," you agree, taking Gojyo's hand.

The three of you head back to your home together, Sanzo, Hakkai and Goku following behind considering they have nowhere else to stay, and you start the rest of your life together…

~The End~


End file.
